


Mud equals Happiness

by Anemone_nemerosa



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Dorcas is the best, M/M, Raising Harry, Shelter-AU, behavioural-specialist!Remus, mention of fatal accident, photographer!sirius
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:15:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27424063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anemone_nemerosa/pseuds/Anemone_nemerosa
Summary: The drizzle had died out, but the backyard of the rescue centre was muddy hell/paradise. Naturally, the dogs -and Harry, for that matter - had the times of their lives while it dawned on Remus that he had to wash all the dogs. Again.
Relationships: Background Marlene McKinnon/Dorcas Meadows, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 6
Kudos: 65
Collections: Wolfstar Games 2020





	Mud equals Happiness

**Author's Note:**

> This work is submitted for the WolfstarGames2020 for team SIGHT!
> 
> Thank you justtoarguewithyou for beta-reading! [AO3](https://archiveofourown.org/users/justtoarguewithyou) [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/justtoarguewithyou)

"That's it, I quit!" Remus exclaimed after a particularly violent swoosh of sudsy water drenched his entire front. 

"Stop whining and help me!" Dorcas grumbled from the other side of the tub, wrangling the surprisingly strong and battlesome French Bulldog Cornelius. But the man had no intention of stepping in and ending his co-worker's struggles, not if it yielded such an entertaining view, so he just crossed his arms and waited for a few moments until – 

"Alright! I quit, too." 

"We don't quit, do we?" Remus chuckled while trying to catch Cornelius. He'd escaped Dorcas' grip and took to happily covering the floor in soapy water. 

"No." Dorcas sighed, rolled up the soaked sleeves of her sweater and nudged Remus, who'd given up on the bulldog and was failing to get his wet hair out of his face. 

"Come on, you get Cornelius, I grab the hose. We still have three more dogs and just forty minutes left. No more time to waste on our little highness."

With combined forces and in disregard of staying dry, the two of them were able to get Cornelius, the two Staffie-mixes, Archie and Daisy, and the Greyhound Kingsley all scrubbed clean and lined up with the other seven now-very-well-groomed dogs, currently residing at the _Dog Trust Rehoming Centre_.

"Please, tell me again why this was necessary on this fine random Thursday." Dorcas was just getting ready to leave, swapping her comfortable sneakers with boots more suitable for the perpetual drizzle outside.

"Because Hagrid forgot to mention that some photographer from Brighton is coming in today to take pictures of all dogs for some pro-adoption article in _Your Dog_ before he hopped on a plane to Spain for a rescue-mission." Remus animatedly recited exactly what he had told Dorcas on the phone two hours earlier.

"Ah, right. He's got a big heart but no organisational skills whatsoever. "

"We knew that, didn't we?" Remus laughed, still trying to get his hair into passable order. "Dorcas, thank you so much for coming over! I know it's your free day but-"

"-you would've gone down without me." 

"Absolutely. Now, go home before Marlene gets angry with me." 

"No need to tell me twice. See ya." And with that, Dorcas made her way out, leaving him to wait for Mr. Black, the photographer.

* * *

Mr. Black, it seemed, was an utter arse. First, he had the audacity to turn up twenty minutes late all spiffed up with his dark undercut artfully tousled, leatherjacket in place, dressed in all black. To top it off, he swaggered in as if he owned the place, radiating arrogant boredom while taking in Remus wet and dishevelled appearance with a pretentious glance. See, Remus knew very well that he was not much of a looker right now, with his long hair in wet tangles, ratty sweater and ripped jeans drenched and splotchy but that was no reason to be this puffed up.

Mr. Black wasn't even good enough at his job to justify such an extra attitude. He showed no interest in, let alone passion for his work. The photos he took were uninspired, boring and not at all encouraging to people considering the adoption of happy shelter dogs. Why hire a professional for photos he could just take with his phone?

"Hey, I need to go." Rude-Dude just startled him out of his spiral of uncharacteristically bad mood while trying to keep all the dogs occupied and clean.

"What?" – _the fuck?_

"Keep your cool, I'll come back." And with that Mr. Leather-jacket-too-cool-to-do-his-job-properly just turned around and left just four dogs in. Like, actually left — abandoning Remus with eleven over-excited and under-exercised dogs that needed to remain groomed indefinitely. 

* * *

About 90 minutes later, the photo-plonker came back, had an urgent hair emergency, most likely, while Remus was running out of ideas to entertain all the dogs. He was just psyching himself up to give him a few words of his own, turning around with his best dismissive expression in place.

_And there he is barging in like- with a kid?_

He felt the dismissal turning into confusion right away. Hiding behind the guy's legs was a young boy with teary eyes, a bloody nose and broken glasses. The arrogant attitude Rude-Dude held himself with before was completely gone, borderlining on apprehensive as he stepped up to Remus hesitantly.

"Hey, Mr. Lupin? I'm back." He cringed for a moment before continuing "Well, obviously. Sorry I had to leave but I had to get my -erm... Harry from school after a fight with a classmate. I have nowhere else for him to stay." He mumbled, avoiding Remus's gaze and ruffling the boy’s already messy hair. 

_His... Harry?_ Remus was absolutely confused by the switch of demeanour and cryptic description of the boy. And while the little one looked right pitiful and the new Mr. Black behaved much less infuriatingly, Remus still felt residual pettiness in his system.

"Well, Mr. Black. Glad you're back." He huffed curtly. "Let's just continue with the photographs please, the dogs are getting edgy."

With that, the man looked in his face again, brows furrowed over impossibly grey eyes. _What? No. Stop. Not going there. Grey eyes. Normal, common grey eyes._

"Why didn't you just put them back in their places when I was gone?" 

"You've never been here before, have you?" When the only answer he received was a questioning look, Remus couldn't help the little huff escaping his mouth. Unfortunately, it moved some loose strands of his sandy hair over his face, causing a little fit of undignified sneezes. 

"See, we don't keep the dogs here in solitary confinement." Remus breathed after a few moments of rubbing his face with both hands, ignoring the chuckle of the little boy, still tucked away behind the photographer's legs. 

"They are kept in balanced packs with their own little outside compartments. It is much better for the social behaviour and happiness of the dogs. If I would've brought them back, even without letting them outside, they would've ruffled each other up. The one instruction from Hagrid, my boss, was to take photographs of them when clean and tidy..." 

Again, the agitated eyebrows of former Rude-Dude made an appearance, this time in amusement, though, causing Remus to wave a hand dismissively. "Yeah, I know, don't even say it. We had some comments on the dogs being too messy before and he needs to satisfy the trust's deputy controlling-agent Mrs. Umbridge." 

With that he handed over Kingsley to the photographer and turned to the boy.

"Harry, right? You can sit here, behind the counter. Let me see if I have something to draw for you while your...?" 

"Dad." Harry supplied easily, without the slightest clue why that was even a question. _Why call him his Harry then? Not son?_

"...Dad is working. I'll go and get you pens, paper and some tissues for your nose, alright?"

Remus was just bringing back Cornelius when a hand on his shoulder stopped him in his tracks. When he turned around, Mr. Black leaned in a little too close, looking worried.

"Please don't complain about that to my boss." He mumbled, looking over to check that Harry was occupied. "I really need this job and I swear Harry will stay put and behave."

Remus was looking over at Harry now, too. The memory of his mom, struggling to raise him on her own after his father passed never quite faded.

"Sure thing, no worries. But honestly? He looks like he'll be bored out of his mind in less than five minutes."

"Yeah...he's rather lively, like his dad" Mr. Back said softly, his eyes not leaving the boy.

"Address yourself in third person often?" Remus joked but the chuckle died in his throat the moment he saw pain take over the entirety of Mr. Black’s features. _Put your foot deep in your mouth there, Remus. Do something else._

"You know what, I’ll introduce Harry to Moony. I'm sure he's bored, too. They can keep each other company until you're done so he won't get too fidgety."

Just as he shuffled towards the back-office, the hand on his shoulder was back, but when Remus turned around once again, the photographer was not standing as close.

"Mr. Lupin? I'm sure you mean well but I don't feel comfortable leaving Harry unattended with some dog."

"Oh, do not worry. I totally agree with not leaving a child unattended with a dog. Moony is no shelter-dog, but my own trained therapy dog and I take him with me to help socialising traumatised or inexperienced dogs that come to the rescue centre. I need to do some paperwork in the back-office and would not leave them out of my proximity, I promise."

A few minutes later had Harry sitting on the floor at Remus’ feet, enthusiastically scrubbing Moony's belly while the Border Collie was sprawled on his back, making content noises.

When Mr. Black came in again, apparently done with photographing, it was Harry who voiced what they all thought about the resulting photographs displayed on the computer screen. 

"The pictures look soooo boring." 

"Shhh, Harry. Behave." But the boy wasn't to be shushed. 

"Normally, you do much funner things, dad." The barely concealed exasperation on the face of Mr. Black found Remus rather amused.

"You know. He's right. It's not your fault but this won't aid in getting them adopted."

"Shall we try something else, then?" 

"Unfortunately, this is what you were hired for and I have neither the authority to commission another set, nor can I call my boss, who is currently on a mission to rescue dogs who-knows-where in Spain. Hence, this will have to do." The dog-trainer sighed.

"Or... you take each little pack outside to frolic around in the mud while I just so happen to hang around, accidentally clicking the trigger of my camera a few times." 

"But the pay-"

"Ohhh! Can we take all the dogs out to play, can we?" Harry's sudden excitement had Moony on his feet again, wagging his tail and looking expectantly up at Remus.

"See, nothing to be done about it. Just us watching the dogs." He shrugged nonchalantly and gave Remus the first genuine smile of the day. "If you can get a new commission, I'll not complain but if not, see it as a thank-you for helping me out with Harry today."

The drizzle had died out, but the backyard of the rescue centre was a muddy hell/paradise. Naturally, the dogs -and Harry, for that matter - had the times of their lives while it dawned on Remus that he had to wash all the dogs. Again. 

* * *

Two hours later, all dogs looked like hell, and Harry was fast asleep on the visitor-couch, slightly drooling onto the pillows. Remus decided he would get the majority of twigs and mud out of the dogs’ fur that evening and leave the rest to tackle with Dorcas tomorrow. Why should Remus keep all the fun to himself, really? He sat down beside the photographer, handing him a cup of tea while they went through the footage, picking favourites to edit later.

"Okay, who on earth named that dog Moody?" The dark-haired man laughed while clicking through several pictures of a bloodhound shaking his head, loose skin, drool and mud swooshing around wildly. 

"Oh, it's surprisingly fitting for him. You should hear some of the more ridiculous names people come up with!"

After a few beats of silence Remus looked up from where he was playing with the tips of his hair.

"What?"

"Well, I'm waiting in anticipation! Out with it!" Mr. Black urged him on with wide gestures.

With a smirk, he turned to face the other man, extending his right hand. "I trade the worst name-choice with your most ludicrous customer."

"Deal." The hand was taken and shaken animatedly. 

"Alright, listen, we once had that Tibetan Mastiff. Massive breed in general, very furry, mostly used for guarding. We had one of them here from a rescue mission in Asia. Ginormous beast; not socialised at all and rather easily spooked. You know what my boss named him?"

"Do tell."

"Fluffy."

"No!"

"Oh, yes. Just a misunderstood puppy, Hagrid kept insisting." Remus couldn't help but chuckle at how horrified they all were when Hagrid suggested to just cuddle the dog when he seemed upset.

"I don't know whether I can hold a candle to that but let me think..." Mr. Black laughed. Should Remus ask for his first name? But before he came to a conclusion, said man began his story. 

"There was once this couple with, like, twenty children, that came in for a family photograph. There were actually seven kids, I think, but all the same shade of red hair and it just looked like a ginger army. And while most of them had surprisingly decent manners, there were these twins. It was just impossible to keep an eye on both of them at the same time and I still don't know how they managed with their watchdog of a mom, but in every photograph I took, they snuck in some knick knack. My favourites are the twins wearing masks with the face of each other on them and the rubber-duck on the dad's shoulder. He denied it but I swear he was plotting with them. The mother was furious and somehow one of her sons, too. The youngest administration secretary I've ever met. One of them goes to school with Harry now and let me tell you, these twins were tame that day."

Remus started laughing half-way in but was doubled over once ex-Rude-Dude was done. Maybe he should stop calling him that in his mind before it made its way over his lips and out into the wild. 

"This is your worst?"

The photographer just shrugged and dragged his hand through the floppy hair on top of his head, messing it up artfully. "I have so many boring and nasty customers each day, I'd rather share the hilarious stuff."

"You don't have much fun there, have you?"

"Well, a photo studio in a shopping centre draws in exasperating folk, which makes for a rather distant and equally nasty default towards customers, so they know not to mess with me. I'm sorry you were on the receiving end of it today. You seem alright."

"Well, thanks for the stamp of approval. And yeah, you were quite a prick at the beginning there, nothing to sugarcoat."

They bantered away like this and time seemed to break off in big chunks as suddenly they'd gone through all the photographs and the photographer was showing him their final selection before packing up.

The pictures he took were absolutely stunning, the previous shots not even in the same league.

"Mr. Black?"

"Mh?"

"How do you manage to take clear and beautiful shots of dogs racing around the yard on a windy and cloudy day?"

"See, I've always wanted to be a wildlife photographer and I practiced on moving animals in several parks for years." The tinge of sadness in his voice stopped Remus from asking further questions. Something told him that his current job was related to the son/Harry situation and he had already put his foot in his mouth on that topic.

He watched the man packing up and carefully arranging the very unconscious Harry on his shoulder before waving goodbye. 

While ridding the dogs’ fur of twigs and making the shelter ready for closing in the evening, it did not leave Remus's mind how the random shopping centre photographer went from insufferable asshole to enjoyable company in just a few hours. 

* * *

The following Saturday, much to Remus' surprise, brought the photographer and Harry to the doorstep of the shelter as soon as they opened. 

"Hi! It said on the website that the shelter is always looking for people to spend time with the dogs, so here we are." Mr. Black shot him a wide grin, hand in a strong grip on an excitedly squirming Harry.

"Erm, hi?" Remus was not fully awake yet and struggled to pretend to be a professional just yet.

Dorcas was curiously peeking up from behind Remus, head on his shoulder "Is that him?" 

When she came in the morning after the photoshoot to find all dogs a muddy mess, he was forced to give a thorough report of the happenings. And of course, Dorcas was now convinced that Mr. Black was the ideal man for him. Since her engagement to Marlene, she seemed to feel the urge to get all the people into a relationship. As her only co-worker, Remus often fell victim to said urge.

"Shush, Dorcas," he hissed as inconspicuously as he could. No need to spook a volunteer with her matchmaking.

"See, Harry is obsessed with the idea of getting a dog now but neither my flat, nor my work schedule allows for our own dog, so this is a compromise." Mr. Black just continued, apparently oblivious to Remus' and Dorcas' whisper-yelling. "Is there a dog who could do with a bit of entertainment?" 

"Yeah. Give me a moment." Remus said, shooing a giggling Dorcas inside with him. "I was on my way to practice with Kingsley anyway. So, you may as well join. We never just let new volunteers walk dogs on their own. You'll have to do with my company."

After rustling around for a few minutes, Remus stepped back outside, the volunteer-form in his pocket for later, a leash in every hand and Moony at his heel. 

"Here, you can take Amy, Mr. Black," he said distractedly, holding out the leash with a fluffy and calm crossbreed on the other end.

"Sirius." 

"Yes, I'm serious. She's a very well-mannered girl, don't worry." He still held the leash out to the other man, who seemed to bite down a grin. 

"That's his name." Harry just laughed, which unsettled Remus a bit. _What?_

"What is his name?"

"My name is Sirius. Like the star?" The photographer looked rather pained during his clarifications and gave an experimental shrug.

"You're kidding." 

"Afraid not." The pained expression deepened while Harry's laugh got uncontrollable "You have thirty seconds to get all the puns out of your system." 

And boy, does he.

"Well, times over." Sirius mimed stopping the time by looking at his blank wrist. "What's your name, then?" 

"Remus"

"Remus Lupin?" The other man stared blankly.

"Mhm."

"You dare goad me for my name and yours is Wolfcub McWolfy-Wolf?" Sirius exclaimed in mock offense while playfully covering Harry's ears. 

"Fair. You have thirty seconds and then we go."

* * *

Sirius and Harry visited to go out with Amy five times in the following two weeks. Much to Dorcas' delight, Remus usually accompanied them with Moony, teaching other dogs basic commands on the way or playing at the beach. Sometimes, Remus and Sirius just sat on a bench in the dog park and talked for hours about everything and nothing, bantering away while the dogs and Harry tired each other out. 

"Remus?"

"Mh?" The sombre tone had the addressed man turning his head towards Sirius, half-done bun falling apart again, elastic forgotten between his lips.

"What motivated you to become a dog trainer at a rescue centre? Is it your dream?"

Remus took a deep breath, thrown off guard at the foreign look etched on Sirius' face.

"That's quite a loaded question you got there. Well, I got bitten by an unattended dog when I was four or five." Remus rolled up his sleeve to show one of the faded but still impressive bite-marks. “It wasn't, like, potentially lethal or something, but bad enough for me to stay in hospital for a few weeks. I was completely terrified of dogs after that and while my mum shared my fears, my dad insisted on taking me to dog-therapy to get rid of that irrational fear. I was there for two years but I learned quite a lot about dogs, fear and miscommunication. But it was much later that I decided I wanted to work in that field. So yes, I enjoy what I'm doing but I wanted to be a firefighter first. And then a policeman, a construction worker and a baker. It's not the one dream. I do not believe that life is narrowed to just one thing. Many things can exist at once." Remus shrugged uncomfortably. What he wanted to be a short story ended in an elaborate rambling over the meaning of life and profession. They were getting on extraordinarily well, but their conversations never stirred far from superficial pleasantries and good-natured banter and he might just have overstepped that line.

"Sirius, what's wrong?" Remus asked carefully once he turned his gaze back on the man, who was chewing his lip, not meeting his eyes.

"Remember that I told you I wanted to do wildlife photography?" Remus nodded but Sirius didn't even look up from studying his feet before he continued. 

"Well, almost five years ago, my best friends died in a car accident. They made me godfather to their son, Harry if you are very slow today." He snorted a laugh through his nose, but the noise couldn't've been further from happy. "With him at my side I need a secure and paying job close-by instead of traveling around, living from pay-check to pay-check, and that's fine. Harry makes me as happy as can be."

Sirius looked up from his shoes, giving a helpless shrug before he rubbed his face aggressively. 

"But sometimes, I wonder whether this shitty job is all the world has to offer for me, whether there's more. Doing something I really enjoy. And then, I feel terribly ashamed. I love Harry and instead of moping about some lost teenage-fantasy, I should be grateful that at least he survived the crash, that what Lily and James loved the most is still here and that I can take care of him."

Remus had no idea what to say. Sure, he had had his theories about Harry, but they mostly involved an ugly break-up or one-night-stand-gone-wrong and Sirius being a single dad. Not, single godfather of his deceased best friends' child. 

Remus was still contemplating what on earth one would say to that situation when the other man leaned against him, head on Remus's shoulder.

"Sorry."

"Don't be." Apparently, the reason why Remus couldn't find words was that there wasn't much to say. They sat like this for a few moments in which Remus contemplated whether this was still in the territory of platonic, and whether he was a horrible, horrible person for even thinking about his fluttering stomach when the other man was so clearly in distress before Harry raced towards them and lunged himself into Sirius arms, punching a laugh out of him. The moment was gone, for better and for worse.

* * *

Over the next few weeks, Remus unconsciously planned his exercises on the weekends specifically for Sirius and Harry to join him until Dorcas began chirping him with all her heart for it. He quite enjoyed the company of Sirius and Harry, thank you very much. 

One of these days he welcomed the duo with the news that Amy found her forever-home with an elderly couple and hurried to carry on with the more imminent good news as he saw Harry's eyes well up. Sirius and Harry would be trusted with a new important task: socialising one of the puppies Hagrid brought back from Spain. They had been kept in quarantine until all important check-ups were done and now ready to mingle. He should have kept himself from allowing Harry to name the dog, though, as for now the black mutt shall forever answer to the name _Padfoot_ ("But look how clumsy he is with these giant baby-paws, Remus!").

"So, let me summarise: That man is just a few months older than you are, you two listen to the same outdated music, enjoy the same old movies and you are basically best friends with his son?" Dorcas pointed out for the umpteenth time this week. He shouldn't have told her a single thing. His mistake, really. 

"Godson." Why exactly did he give her more information? Didn't he just establish that this was bad?

"Fine. That. So, what is holding you back from asking him out?" she asked, lounging on the visitor-couch while he was finishing up the day’s paperwork.

"Dorcas, dear; we had that. He hates pineapple-pizza." Remus just sighed. 

"Oh, Come off it," the girl scoffed, aiming a good-natured kick at him.

"He thinks that _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ is better than _Back to the Future_!"

"I said, come off it." Dorcas was lifting her torso from the couch now, finger raised threateningly. 

"We are just friends." More sighing.

"Remus!"

"Alright, if you must. He made it very clear that he doesn't date anymore since his best friends died five years ago and left their son in his custody. His priority is taking over as dad and raising Harry with as much love as he can muster. There is no room for anyone else."

"Bullshit, that guy fancies the pants off you." 

"Leave it." _Please._

"You are very dumb." At least, this seemed to be the end of the conversation.

"Thank you." Remus deadpanned, giving his best to sound casual despite the unease that whole topic caused him.

"You're welcome." Dorcas hummed, in the process of fishtail braiding her hair when a car pulled up outside. "I'm off now. It's date night." 

"Say hello to Marlene for me, please."

With that Dorcas planted a kiss on his cheek and climbed out of the window. "Hey Marls, Mopey-boy says hi!" 

"Hi Remus!" was the cheery reply from outside.

* * *

Another few weeks later had Padfoot, who began to grow into the size of his paws, ready for adoption. While always a joyous occasion for the centre, Harry was less than thrilled at the prospect of Padfoot going to a loving family that did not include Sirius and him. 

"Hey Remus, we'll not come over today... just wanted to let you know. Harry won't stop crying so we'll wait until Padfoot is adopted and then maybe wait another few days. He'll come 'round." 

The call from Sirius made it clear for Remus that he should've known better than to allow the kid to become so attached to a dog up for adoption. The guilt about having caused so much distress to the two settled much heavier in his stomach than appropriate for the situation, which ultimately prompted him to give up lying to himself about his feelings towards Sirius.

So, naturally, he did the sensible and absolutely sane thing by adopting Padfoot himself before even a single family had a chance to meet the dog. He never was one to act impulsively but ...alas. Officially, he was looking for a non-work companion for Moony and they had the right chemistry, which wasn't wrong, so it wasn't a lie, was it? Yeah, Dorcas didn't buy it either.

But his efforts were repaid by a very happy Harry, who shyly handed Remus an invitation for his seventh birthday party. It was addressed to Remus, Moony and Padfoot, in that order, he was glad to notice.

Later that day, when Harry was busy chasing Moony -or Padfoot, surely, they didn't really know who was chasing who- at the dog park, Sirius apologised for the invitation and explained that Harry really wanted to invite him but that he surely did not need to come to a children's party. 

"No, it's fine, really." Remus answered the slightly embarrassed godfather. _Was there a glimmer of hope in his eyes? They were indeed very beautiful... Focus, Lupin!_

"I'm very honoured to be even listed on the invitation before my dogs and not just as an afterthought."

"Would it be cruel of me to mention that your card is the third draft, then?"

"Yes. Yes, it would."

* * *

The day of the party arrived, and Remus just realised that he never met Sirius outside of the shelter, never when he was not working and in accordingly ratty and splotchy clothes. After the embarrassing insight settled in (making itself at home in his mind with a cup of tea and a cosy blanket), he spent an uncharacteristically long stretch of time in front of his closet to figure out which clothing conveyed the message "Here I am, 28, invited to the birthday party of a seven-year-old because of my dogs. I'm helplessly pining over his godfather, though, and not a perv." Tricky. He decided on a simple pair of brown corduroys and a soft navy flannel, tying his hair up in an unintentionally messy bun while ignoring the nagging feeling of being on the opposite end of the style-and-effort spectrum than Sirius ...and still a bloody creep. But he'd made a chocolate cake shaped like a paw, which he was rather proud of. Was that more or less creepy? The cake mould was forced on him by Hagrid, who hopped on the get-Remus-a-date-with-that-guy-train with Dorcas about two weeks ago. Sirius himself had insisted that a cake was absolutely perfect and that he please, please, please not go through the trouble of buying a gift. The man had admitted being a hopelessly incompetent baker and, apparently, a homemade birthday cake was gift enough. 

He hadn't waited longer than a few seconds in front of a nice building in Hanover when the door was ripped open and he was greeted by Sirius, looking not unlike how Remus had looked after three hours of dog-grooming on the day they met. 

"Well, well, Mr. Black, how the tables have turned." Remus greeted him loftily, chin held high, smirk in place.

"Thank god, an adult!" Sirius exclaimed before continuing almost longingly "Actual sarcasm..."

With the arrival of two happy dogs, independent of how well-trained, the flat erupted in chaos. Before Remus could even have a proper look, the party, consisting of around eight children and a ruffled Sirius, was transferred outside. In the park across the street the kids got themselves tired and hungry by chasing the dogs around and playing fetch. Despite his concerns of coming off as creepy adult at a children's party, the day was surprisingly pleasant. After being pestered with a million questions about the shelter he was mainly serving as Sirius guest and anchor in sanity.

They had a cake-and-juice picnic in the late afternoon, shortly before the parents dribbled in to pick up their blessedly exhausted kids. With wonderful amusement he recognized the woman with the many red-haired children, several of them in tow. Much to his disappointment, and Sirius' relief, the infamous twins were _not_ among them.

Once all the kids were gone, Remus volunteered to get the flat back to normal and it was a clear giveaway of his exhaustion that Sirius didn't even try to talk him out of it. 

They began with washing the worst dirt off Moony and Padfoot in the bathtub. If they were to stay in the flat for a bit, they could not drip with mud.

"Why do dogs get always this muddy when playing?" Harry laughed when padfoot shook himself, sending bits of dirt over the tiles and in Harry's face, who needed a bath anyway, so no harm done.

"Remus thought about the least behavioural-scientific way to explain but as he watched the grinning boy, covered in dirt and dog-drool, he found that the answer was quite simple. "Mud equals happiness."

After the dogs were passably clean, dozing on an old blanket and Harry soaked in the tub with some bubble bath and a rubber duck, Remus helped Sirius to clean up the chaos that the dogs brought at their first arrival, like toppled over plant-pots and stray cups before Sirius made a light supper and sent a protesting Harry to bed. Remus, however, stayed until the flat was alright again, reluctant to go despite better knowledge. And just as he turned to Sirius in an attempt to say goodnight, he was met with such an intense stare that his words surrendered and went into hiding back down his throat. 

"Remus, I spent the whole day with a bunch of overexcited kiddies. Every filter I ever possessed is long used up and I deeply hope I won't regret that." 

And before Remus' brain caught up with the words, he was enveloped in a strong pair of arms, a hand at his neck tugging him down, soft lips pressing against his. Remus froze, having trouble coming to terms with what he firmly told himself would never happen, actually happening.

Just as his brain was ready to give orders again, Sirius pulled away, a painful expression on his face. "Right, sorry. Can we pretend that never happened?" 

"No!" It seemed his brain wasn't on full force again since his exclamation was just met with silence and it dawned on him too late that this came across wrong.

"Oh. Well..." The other man was pointedly averting his eyes.

Just as he wanted to clarify, another thought popped into Remus' mind. "You said you were not interested in dating." 

"I- I wasn't." 

"And now you are?" 

"Yes." 

They looked at each other for what could've been seconds or hours before Remus decided that a bold signal was in order. Sirius was the one to make the first move and Remus would not allow this to be in vain. He closed the space between them, taking his time stroking Sirius' cheek with his thumb before leaning in... until the sound of a door shutting and small feet tapping over the wooden floor let them jerk apart.

"Remus, you’re still here! If you have a sleep-over with dad, can Moony and Padfoot sleep in my bed please?"

**Author's Note:**

> **Mod Note**
> 
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